The new era of ventilation technology
Get the most out of your air conditioning or refrigeration system in terms of efficiency and operational reliability: with Digital Services from ebm-papst.
How enjoyable is it being responsible for sales, given the current state of the economy and global crises?
I always enjoy being responsible for sales because I like working with our customers. The state of the economy has no effect on that. Of course, growth is always welcome. On the other hand, we are able to better showcase our knowledge, skills and expertise when the economy isn’t doing so well.
Where do you see the biggest challenges at present?
In terms of regions, Europe currently presents the biggest challenges. When it comes to applications, two areas in particular are impacted: residential ventilation and heat pumps. One reason for this is that residential construction in Germany has decreased by 40 percent. Another reason is that heat pump manufacturers have seen their sales halved, especially due to the uncertainty caused by Germany’s Building Energy Act. Added to this is industry’s general investment reticence.
How are you dealing with this?
We are trying to compensate with other applications and by working with customers in these areas to develop innovative solutions. One example is a new central electronics system for heat pumps that provides additional benefits for customers and also helps improve efficiency. Our goal is to transition from being only a supplier of components to a system supplier, thus generating additional value for our customers.
Could you be more specific about this change?
We not only supply hardware but have also added software to our portfolio. By analyzing data with artificial intelligence, we make it possible to improve the use of fans, thus increasing the energy efficiency and reliability of the entire system. On the same basis, we also provide digital services to support condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.
By analyzing data with artificial intelligence, we make it possible to improve the use of fans, thus increasing the energy efficiency and reliability of the entire system.
Thomas Nürnberger, Chief Sales Officer ebm‑papst Group & Chief Executive Officer Air Technology APAC
Which markets do you think have the greatest potential?
The Asia-Pacific and Americas regions. By Asia, I don’t just mean China but also Southeast Asia, and India in particular. This is home to many of the big players in the data center and commercial air technology sectors. When it comes to cleanrooms, we are the leading supplier to the semiconductor industry worldwide. The same is true for the area of renewables, where we supply fans of all sizes – from compact to large – for the charging infrastructure and the production, distribution and storage of energy, for example. There is also great potential in the retrofitting sector. In Germany, for example, 70 percent of commercial air technology systems are more than 20 years old. Through a retrofit with our plug-and-play solutions, we can help save a significant amount of energy.
What is the impact of your local-for-local strategy?
Thanks to our global structure, we can supply our customers in all three regions with the products they need. And we are the only fan manufacturer of this size in the world that can also deliver sufficient quantities.
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